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A Matter of Elemental Facts: Polonium

Polonium entered the news in 2006, when ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned by polonium while dining in London. The front-page story featured dramatic images of Litvinenko lying in his hospital bed. Two Russian men Litvinenko met with, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun, were accused of the poisoning. Lugovoi and Kovtun’s ties to the Russian government increased suspicion since Russia is the only known producer of Polonium. Some have speculated that polonium was also used to poison Yassar Arafat, President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, in 2004. His body was exhumed in 2012. In 2013 The Lancet reported high levels of polonium…

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 Polonium: A Rare and Highly Volatile Radioactive Element

Polonium (Po) is a very rare and highly volatile radioactive metal. Before Polish-French physicist Marie Curie's discovery of polonium in 1898, uranium and thorium were the only known radioactive elements. Curie named polonium after her homeland, Poland. Polonium is of little use to humans, with the exception of some menacing applications: It was used as a trigger in the first atomic bomb and is also a suspected poison in a couple of high-profile deaths.

Articles of Interest

Litvinenko poisoning: polonium explained

Polonium is a radioactive element that occurs naturally in tiny amounts (which are harmless to us). It was discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie, during her research on pitchblende, an ore of uranium. It has the chemical symbol “Po” and Curie named it after Poland, her native country. If you look at a periodic table, you’ll find polonium at the bottom of the group headed by oxygen and sulfur. There are around 30 different isotopes of polonium ranging in atomic mass from 194 to 218, only differing from each other in their neutron number. The important one is polonium-210, which happens to be the one discovered by Curie.

Marie and Pierre Curie and the discovery of polonium and radium

At the end of the 19th century, a number of discoveries were made in physics which paved the way for the breakthrough of modern physics and led to the revolutionary technical development that is continually changing our daily lives.

Polonium (Po)

Polonium (Po) is a rare, highly radioactive element classified under the chalcogen family, which includes oxygen and sulfur. Discovered in 1898 by physicists Marie and Pierre Curie while studying pitchblende, polonium was named to honor Poland, a nod to Marie's heritage amidst its lack of independence at the time. Known for having the most isotopes of any element, polonium-210 is the most common and useful, characterized by a short half-life of approximately 138 days and potent alpha-emitting properties.

Polonium-210

Polonium 2-10 is one of the most hazardous radioactive materials known. However, it must be inhaled or ingested to exert its toxic effects. It is found naturally in the environment, and the general population has small but measurable amounts of it. Ingestion occurs on a regular basis through food, water, and air. Tobacco leaves are known to concentrate Po-210. Users of tobacco products are likely to have higher levels of this radioactive element in their bodies. Po-210 decays to a stable isotope of lead (Pb-206) by emitting alpha particles. The largest part of the alpha dose is delivered over the first 100 days following a single administration.

Polonium-210: A deadly element

It’s a silver-coloured metal found in uranium ores. That’s where it was first discovered, by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1897. There are only about 100 micrograms in every tonne of ore. Po-210 is one of 25 radioactive isotopes of polonium – it decays to lead by alpha particle emission, with a half life of 138 days.

Polonium-210: A Volatile Radioelement in Cigarettes

Polonium-210, which emits alpha particles, is a natural contaminant of tobacco. For an individual smoking two packages of cigarettes a day, the radiation dose to bronchial epithelium from Po210 inhaled in cigarette smoke probably is at least seven times that from background sources, and in localized areas may be up to 1000 rem or more in 25 years. Radiation from this source may, therefore, be significant in the genesis of bronchial cancer in smokers.

Polonium-210: the hard-to-detect poison that killed Alexander Litvinenko

The substance was polonium-210, a rare and highly radioactive isotope that a Swiss team has discovered in Yasser Arafat's exhumed corpse. It is extremely hard to detect. Scientists only identified it in Litvinenko hours before his death. A former FSB officer, and teetotaller, Litvinenko was a fitness fanatic. Doctors say it was only because he was in such good shape that he lasted so long. If he had died sooner, the cause of death would probably never have been uncovered.

Polonium: A silent killer

The element goes undetected by most radiation detectors but when it is found, it can leave a trail to its origin.

Polonium: The Element That Whispers of Radioactivity

Polonium (symbol Po) is a fascinating, albeit rare, chemical element. It's a radioactive one, meaning its atoms are unstable and tend to break down over time, releasing energy. You can find it in tiny amounts within uranium ores, a natural occurrence that hints at its deep connection to radioactive decay processes. But it's not just found in nature; it can also be produced artificially.

Science history: Marie Curie discovers a strange radioactive substance that would eventually kill her — Dec. 26, 1898

Scientists in Paris discovered two new substances with incredible radioactivity. It earned them the Nobel Prize in Physics but would ultimately kill one of them.

The Right Chemistry: The Power of Polonium

Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz on polonium, assassination and nuclear bombs.

What is polonium - and why is it so dangerous?

Polonium is a highly radioactive heavy metal. It is arguably the most lethal known material. Although it has some minor industrial uses it is best known for links with possible assassinations. It is also used to produce neutrons in the core of nuclear weapons. Discovered by Marie Curie, the element was named after her home country of Poland. Polonium is element 84 in the periodic table, and all of its isotopes are radioactive. Their half-lives vary between a few millionths of a second to 103 years.

What is polonium-210?

t is a naturally occurring radioactive material that emits highly hazardous alpha (positively charged) particles. It is one of 25 radioactive isotopes of polonium, a silver-coloured metal found in uranium ores. The Polish-French scientist Marie Curie first discovered polonium at the end of the 19th Century. There are very small amounts of polonium-210 (Po-210) in the soil and in the atmosphere, and everyone has a small amount of it in their body. But at high doses, it damages tissues and organs. A microgram of Po-210, about the size of a speck of dust, would be certain to deliver a fatal dose of radiation if swallowed.

Resources

Polonium Foundation

Polonium Foundation is an independent non-profit NGO. We are turning Polish brain drain into brain circulation by unlocking the potential of Polish research diaspora. We connect its members at our events, research the community, and provide policy recommendations.